The Mastermind
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
In 1970, failed architect James Blaine Mooney and cohorts wander into a museum in broad daylight and steal four paintings. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run.
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The Mastermind Ratings & Reviews
- cultfilmlikerDecember 19, 2025lol. Yeah, Josh O’Connor best actor of 2025 easy Kelly going full auteur (including editor) trying to get that Anora fame. Gotta say, never been a HUGE fan of her color palettes tho. The amount of beige I FEEL (let alone see) in her films is just overwhelming. ALL THAT SAID, it still looks nice. Matthew Maher makes anything he’s in 10x better. Just an incredible talent. John Magaro & Gaby Hoffman are a perfect movie couple imo
- russrev1ewsMarch 8, 2026An unnecessarily non-verbal movie, where a little more “telling” and less “showing” would’ve helped.
- ebd321January 13, 2026I saw this on some best of 2025 lists and I am not sure why. Its engaging albeit slow burning early on, then gradually devolves into watching paint dry. It feels like she was intentionally trying to drag out a thin script. By the end, I was just glad it was over.
- Mr WalkerJanuary 7, 2026What starts as a 70s style HOT ROCK heist caper of 5th rate criminal losers complete with jazzy score soon loosens into a minimalist FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE type character study. As she has done so well before, Kelly Reichardt Directs the film to be at constant odds with expectations. To take the slower more measured observation of a moment in time that may not be plot driven but rather character, mood or for aesthetic context. You can smell, taste and feel the period, its lived in and textured without pastiche. This film veers outside the traditional perspective to become leisurely hyper-focused on a familiar central character made grounded and mundane. Josh O'Connor is James Blaine Mooney, a man on the run but not in a hurry. So comfortable in his narcissism that he uses and discards any that he pulls into his orbit with no more than a shrug. In one of the most difficult performances of the year O'Connor plays it all with a skilfully calculated indifference that makes the character an intellectual curiosity and an emotional void that cares not for our sympathy, hatred or opinion. An aloof amoral parasite that remains distant. This is not someone looking for redemption or forgiveness only the next exploitable situation.....but he is neither a villain nor a criminal mastermind.
- Rowan KrzysiakJanuary 2, 2026A slow, self-centred, deluded protagonist in an interesting situation. That interesting situation is mostly concluded in the first quarter and from there the character of the film is only really coloured by that of the protagonist's. Not nearly good enough.
- Jefferson BittencourtMarch 6, 2026Great direction and beautiful photography. I really liked the director's camera language. A cinema that speaks through images and atmosphere. I liked it!!
- risheyJanuary 15, 2026Pointless
- Tyler SJanuary 9, 2026👍 6.5/10
- TommyJanuary 5, 2026booring
- Mitch MillerDecember 31, 2025Slooooooow
- jradar9December 28, 2025Theory: a potential 5⭐ Execution -5⭐ Absolutely horrendous. I can't believe we made it through the most useless last 1hr of any movie... Ever.
- wonderrxjrDecember 26, 2025Josh O'Connor's character was truly the bitchiest criminal I have ever seen, like no way he truly thought those guys would stay in line fr. I feel bad for Alana Haim she deserved better in this, but of course always glad to see my girl in movies !
- David MurrayDecember 22, 2025Unfulfilling movie. Slow flat start into a heist movie that crumbles into a pointless man's failure of his family obligations and poor decisions. Just save your time as life is too short to burn it on empty media.
- dimakanDecember 19, 2025Excruciatingly slow and, in the end, pointless.
- adamp442December 17, 2025The Mastermind is a slow burn—moody and atmospheric in its subtle delivery. A tight-knit story that oozes style.
The Mastermind Trivia
The Mastermind was released on October 16, 2025.
The Mastermind was directed by Kelly Reichardt.
The Mastermind has a runtime of 1h 50m.
The Mastermind was produced by Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani.
In 1970, failed architect James Blaine Mooney and cohorts wander into a museum in broad daylight and steal four paintings. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run.
The key characters in The Mastermind are James Blaine Mooney (Josh O'Connor), Terri Mooney (Alana Haim), Sarah Mooney (Hope Davis).
The Mastermind is rated R.
The Mastermind is a Crime, Drama film.
The Mastermind has an audience rating of 5.2 out of 10.